Somerset Man Pleads Guilty to Child Rape Charges

SOMERSET (WBSM) — A Somerset man was sentenced to serve eight to 12 years in state prison after pleading guilty to child rape charges.

Ian Anderson, 27, pleaded guilty to indictments charging him with rape of a child by force and rape of a child.

On November 17, 2022, the parents of the 15-year-old victim found Snapchat messages that indicated she had engaged in intercourse with Anderson. The parents took screen shots of the messages and called the police.

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Anderson was communicating using the user name “Nacho Medeiros.”

The messages showed that Anderson engaged in sex with the girl knowing she was underage.

In a forensic interview in 2022, the victim revealed that she met Anderson on Snapchat and planned to hang out at his house.

Anderson brought the victim into his bedroom, where he then raped her and warned the victim not to tell anyone about their interaction because of the age difference.

“This cases highlights the extreme danger of meeting a stranger online. It eventually led to the defendant committing a violent sexual assault against the victim. Fortunately her family obtained her messages which led to the defendant being arrested,” District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said.

“As jury selection was underway, the defendant even tried to get a witness to lie on his behalf. The sentence was well-deserved and I hope the victim can move forward with her life," he said.